Semester 2004B Overview and Call for Proposals

Semester 2004B Overview and Call for Proposals

Proposals are invited for observations in semester
2004B (1 August 2004 - 31 January 2005) with Gemini North and Gemini South. Here we give an overview of the
capabilities offered and other proposal guidelines and restrictions (see a
summary of the new capabilities,
including GNIRS and Michelle).

Proposal Deadlines and Process

Applications should be submitted via your national Gemini proposal process. The
submission deadline varies slightly from country to country, in the range 23
March - 6 April 2004 [Canada 23 March, US, UK, Australia & Argentina 31 March; Univ. Hawaii 1
April; Brazil 5 April; Chile 6 April]. Specific details and requirements of the
proposal process in each partner country can be found by following the links
to National Gemini Office pages in the Phase I overview.

For partner countries using the Phase I Tool, a new version of
PIT is available.

The assessment and ranking of proposals within each partner country will be via
National Time Allocation Committees (NTACs) supported by the National Gemini Offices.
Assembly of the 2004B schedule and queue, definition of scientific ranking bands
and resolution of conflicts by the ITAC will follow the procedures described in the Phase I overview and the
proposal process schedule. All data will be
subject to the normal Gemini proprietary data period of 18 months.

Queue Rollover: the policy for rollover of highly-ranked queue
programs, introduced in 2004A, will continue. Programs assigned by the ITAC into
Band 1 are eligible for rollover into the next semester, for no more than two consecutive
semesters, in order to increase the likelihood of program completion. Eligibility
for rollover will be decided at the 2004B ITAC (for rollover into 2005A).
Programs with rollover status in 2004A will automatically be carried forward i.e. PIs need not
re-apply if the currently approved allocation is sufficient to reach the science
goals of the program. National policies that
affect eligibility are defined by the relevant NTAC.

Some countries permit submitting a program that uses both telescopes; in such
cases the capabilities and time requested
on each telescope must be stated clearly in the proposal. This is required because
the National Gemini Offices will transmit separate XML files for Gemini North and Gemini
South to Gemini Observatory for scheduling. Proposals may include the use of
multiple instruments and telescopes. If observations can be carried out with either GMOS (note
that they have different capabilities) you must nevertheless specify one of
them; the NTACs or ITAC may make changes.

Joint proposals: if you submit the same proposal to several partner countries with
the same or a different PI for each country
(a "joint proposal"), be sure to identify the name of the Principal
Contact in the list of applicants. The Principal Contact need not be the same as
the proposal PI but each joint proposal must have one, and only one, Principal
Contact. The Principal Contact will be the person who will be
receiving the Phase II information and be the sole contact person for the Gemini Observatory and for the National
Gemini Offices should the program be approved for observing time. (See the joint
proposal instructions for more details; a checkbox in PIT is used to denote
the Principal Contact).

Gemini North: Instrument Availability

Instruments available in this semester are listed below. Note that there
are restrictions on the scheduling and time available with certain instruments. Certain
modes are offered on a shared-risks basis (see the definition of shared risks). Please
see the target visibility tables for a summary of instrument availability and
the allowed RA
ranges.

Facility instruments:

NIRI - near-IR imager and low-resolution spectrograph. NIRI is offered in
queue and classical
observing modes for imaging and spectroscopy.

Altair - facility natural guide star AO system. Altair is offered
in queue and classical modes for use with NIRI for 1-2.5um (broad and narrow-band
filter) imaging and spectroscopy.

GMOS North - optical imager, integral-field, long-slit and multi-object spectrograph. GMOS
North is offered in queue and classical
observing modes for imaging and spectroscopy. All classical MOS
programs must have GMOS pre-imaging; if this does not exist already it
must be included in the time requested and the National TACs will add a separate pre-imaging program in the queue.
In such cases, classical
time for MOS will not be scheduled in August, the first month of 2004B, to
allow enough time between pre-imaging and the classical run.

Michelle - mid-IR spectrograph and imager. Michelle is offered in
queue mode only, on a shared-risks basis, for imaging and R=200-3000 spectroscopy at 10 and
20um after 1 October.

Gemini North: Operational Modes

For semester 2004B, NIRI, Altair, GMOS and Michelle are offered in queue
observing mode. All available modes of GMOS, NIRI and Altair (both imaging
and spectroscopy) are also offered in classical
observing mode. (Note the restrictions on visiting observers and the 3-night
minimum classical run length, outside of special arrangements within individual partner
countries, described on the classical observing web page).
In addition, certain queue programs may be selected by the Gemini Director
after the ITAC for classical observation by visiting observers; please indicate
in the technical justification section of your proposal if this would be of interest.

Imaging and long-slit observations with GMOS North may
request "Quick Response" mode. This mode is intended to allow
observation of targets that cannot be specified in advance but which have a
well-defined scientific aim and an external trigger. Examples might include
distant supernova or gamma ray bursts. We are aiming for
a response time of no more than 18-24hr during scheduled GMOS runs. Proposals for the Quick Response mode
should be made via the normal proposal process and must summarise the trigger
event (e.g. identification of a target brighter than a pre-determined
threshold) in the proposal abstract. (See more details of the Quick
Response process and activation mechanism).

The balance between
instruments will be driven by scientific merit via the time allocation process.
Any instrument must succeed in being awarded at least 160 hours (approx 16
nights) in order to be mounted on the telescope instrument support structure.

There is a minimum time (the sum
of integration plus overheads) that can be requested for queue/service and
classical observing (see the
descriptions
of the modes for details).

Time-specific (including periodic monitoring and follow-up) programs may be accepted on a
best-efforts basis. Note that the instrument scheduling imposes additional restrictions on
this class of programs.

All observations require the use of one wavefront sensor (WFS) star for fast guiding,
primary mirror active optics control and/or as an adaptive optics wavefront reference
source. The specific requirements for each instrument are given in the relevant science
instrument web pages ("performance and use" section). As the technical
feasibility of proposals relies in part on the availability of WFS stars, all proposals
must include suitable WFS stars. Proposals concerned with non-sidereal objects should
indicate the likely availability of WFS stars in the technical justification but are not
required to supply specific stars.

Observations of non-sidereal objects will be permitted for all instruments
provided that the peripheral WFS is used (i.e. GMOS and NIRI on-instrument WFS
cannot be used).

For 2004B there is an minimum elevation limit for the telescope of 30 deg
(i.e. declination range -40 to +80deg).

No instrument changes during the night will be available to classical observers. No other visitor
instruments will be permitted.

Gemini North: Time Availability and Distribution

Due to the instrument commissioning activities
during this period, principally for modes of Michelle, silver coating of the
primary mirror and laser guide star installation, in semester 2004B about 70% of the time will be made available for science use.
Of this, about 100hr is being 'reserved'
for follow-up observations of results from the Spitzer Space Telescope. This
time is distributed as 70% amongst the nominal partner shares and 30% set aside;
it is expected that the Spitzer follow-up time will be assigned predominantly to
promote programs submitted through the normal peer-reviewed proposal process and
the remainder through individual Director's Discretionary Time (DDT) requests.

The time available to the partner
countries also depends on the allocation to Gemini staff (see an overview of the staff process); a fraction of 10% was assumed for this
table. Estimates of the time for each partner are listed below:

Partner

Estimated Nights
(or Hours) Available

US

48 nights (481 hours)

Univ. of Hawaii (host time)

9 nights (93 hours)

UK

29 nights (286 hours)

Canada

17 nights (172 hours)

Australia

6 nights (62 hours)

Argentina

2 nights (24 hours)

Brazil

2 nights (22 hours)

To
maintain overall balance amongst the partnership, these values have been
adjusted from the nominal partner shares as a result of the historical usage of
time. A correction of 50% of the aggregate imbalance has been applied, amounting
to a redistribution of about 45 hours. Weather and other losses are excluded
from this table. The time available includes baseline calibrations on the sky which are assumed to be shared by
all partners. The number of nights is obtained from int(hours/10).

Gemini South: Instrument Availability

Instruments available in this semester are listed below. Certain
modes are offered on a shared-risks basis (see the definition of shared risks). Please
see the target visibility tables for a summary of instrument availability and
the allowed RA
ranges.

Facility instruments:

GMOS South - optical imager, integral-field, long-slit and multi-object spectrograph. GMOS
South is offered in queue and classical observing modes for imaging and
spectroscopy. All classical MOS
programs must have GMOS pre-imaging; if this does not exist already it
must be included in the time requested and the National TACs will add a separate pre-imaging program in the queue.
In such cases, classical
time for MOS will not be scheduled in August, the first month of 2004B, to
allow enough time between pre-imaging and the classical run.

T-ReCS - mid-IR imager and spectrograph. T-ReCS is offered for imaging
and spectroscopy (R=100 and R=1000) in queue and classical observing modes.

GNIRS - near-infrared long-slit and cross-dispersed spectrograph.
GNIRS is offered for R=2000 and R=6000 long slit 1-5um and cross-dispersed
R=2000 1-2.5um spectroscopy in queue mode only, on a shared-risks basis.
The IFU is not available.

Whilst not a conventional facility instrument, the Acquisition
Camera is offered for broadband (BVRI) optical imaging in queue-observing mode only.
It's capabilities are limited
compared with the facility imager (GMOS South) and is best suited to high repetition rate programs.
As GMOS South is available for Quick Response programs, QR proposals will
not be accepted for the Acquisition Camera.

Visiting instruments:

Phoenix - high-resolution near-IR spectrograph (loaned by NOAO).
Phoenix is offered in service observing mode only to be
operated with support from the US National Gemini Office.

Gemini South: Operational Modes

For semester 2004B, GMOS, T-ReCS, GNIRS and AcqCam are offered in queue
observing mode. All available modes of GMOS and T-ReCS are also offered in classical
observing mode. (Note the restrictions on visiting observers and the 3-night
minimum classical run length, outside of special arrangements within individual partner
countries, described on the classical observing web page). As a visiting instrument, Phoenix will be operated in a service mode (similar to the queue) with support from the
US National Gemini Office. In addition, certain programs may be selected by the Gemini Director
after the ITAC for classical observation by visiting observers; please indicate
in the technical justification section of your proposal if this would be of interest.

Imaging and long-slit observations with GMOS South may
request "Quick Response" mode. This mode is intended to allow
observation of targets that cannot be specified in advance but which have a
well-defined scientific aim and an external trigger. Examples might include
distant supernova or gamma ray bursts. We are aiming for
a response time of no more than 18-24hr during scheduled GMOS runs. Proposals for the Quick Response mode
should be made via the normal proposal process and must summarise the trigger
event (e.g. identification of a target brighter than a pre-determined
threshold) in the proposal abstract. (See more details of the Quick
Response process and activation mechanism).

The balance between instruments
will be driven by scientific merit via the time allocation process. Any
instrument must succeed in being awarded at least 160 hours (approx 16 nights)
in order to be mounted on the telescope instrument support structure.

There is a minimum time (the sum
of integration plus overheads) that can be requested for queue/service observing (see the
descriptions
of the modes for details).

Time-specific (including periodic monitoring and follow-up) programs with
other instruments may be accepted on a
best-efforts basis. Note that the instrument scheduling imposes additional restrictions on
this class of programs.

All observations require the use of one wavefront sensor (WFS) star for fast guiding,
primary mirror active optics control and/or as an adaptive optics wavefront reference
source. The specific requirements for each instrument are given in the relevant science
instrument web pages ("performance and use" section). As the technical
feasibility of proposals relies in part on the availability of WFS stars, they must
include suitable WFS stars. Proposals concerned with non-sidereal objects should
indicate the likely availability of WFS stars in the technical justification. WFS stars
are not required for quick-response proposals (but will be required to execute the
observations).

Observations of non-sidereal objects will be permitted for all instruments
provided that the peripheral WFS is used (i.e. GMOS and GNIRS on-instrument WFS cannot be
used).

For 2004B there is an minimum elevation limit for the telescope of 27deg
(i.e. declination range -90 to +33deg).

No instrument or observing mode changes during the night will
be available. No other visitor instruments will be permitted.

Gemini South: Time Availability and Distribution

Due to the instrument commissioning activities
during this period, principally completion of GNIRS, Hokupa'a 85 and bHROS, in semester
2004B about 70% of the time will be made available for science use. This
fraction includes payback to NOAO for the loan and continuing support of Phoenix (estimated at
4 nights). About 100hr is being
'reserved' for follow-up observations of results from the Spitzer Space
Telescope. This time is distributed as 70% amongst the nominal partner shares
and 30% set aside; it is expected that the Spitzer follow-up time will be
assigned predominantly to promote programs submitted through the normal
peer-reviewed proposal process and the remainder through individual Director's Discretionary Time (DDT)
requests.

The time available to
the partner countries also depends on the allocation to Gemini staff (see an overview of
the staff process); a fraction of 10% was assumed for
this table. Estimates of the time for each partner are listed below:

Partner

Estimated Nights
(or Hours) Available

US

46 nights (463 hours)

Chile (host time)

12 nights (119 hours)

UK

28 nights (284 hours)

Canada

16 nights (160 hours)

Australia

5 nights (47 hours)

Argentina

2 nights (24 hours)

Brazil

2 nights (20 hours)

To
maintain overall balance amongst the partnership, these values have been
adjusted from the nominal partner shares as a result of the historical usage of
time. A correction of 50% of the aggregate imbalance has been applied, amounting
to a redistribution of about 45 hours.
Weather and other losses and visiting instrument payback are excluded
from this table. The time available includes baseline calibrations on the sky
which are assumed to be shared by
all partners. The number of nights is obtained from int(hours/10).

Up to 50hr of the US allocation may be used for a demonstration science
program following successful commissioning of the Hokupa'a 85 Adaptive Optics
system. A separate announcement will be made for this program.

Questions and Answers

All questions concerning proposals, or any other subject, should be made using the Gemini HelpDesk. This web-based
system will send the request to your National Gemini Office staff in the first instance
who will then escalate it to Gemini staff if necessary.